Computer Numerical Control (CNC) grinding machines are becoming increasingly common with the recent advances in computer controlled machinery. One type of CNC grinding machine is a CNC saw grinder. These machines are used to sharpen saw teeth on saw blades, and there are a number of types: face and top grinding machines; side grinding machines; steel relieving and profiling machines; and shape plunge grinding machines.
CNC face and top grinding machines use a grinding wheel that is controlled by a CNC multiple axes manipulator which orient and move a grinding wheel against a saw blade tooth in order to sharpen a face and a top of a tooth. Similarly, side grinding machines move a grinding wheel against a saw blade tooth to sharpen a side of the tooth. Side grinding machines known as dual side grinders use a pair of grinding wheels to simultaneously grind both sides of a saw tooth. A steel relieving machine will remove some steel from behind the tooth tip in order to allow for more sharpening without needing a new tip; while a profiling machine will in addition grind the gullet and body of the tooth as well. A shape plunge grinding machine uses a shaped grinding wheel, e.g. V-shape, to make that shape on the top of the tooth.
In order to perform a complete sharpening, each saw blade must be first sharpened by one of the face and top grinding machine and the side grinding machine, then removed and transferred to the other of the two machines to complete the sharpening process. This means that each saw blade must be loaded into two separate machines. It would be desirable to reduce this two step process into a single step, in order to achieve one or more of: faster processing times, reduced machinery cost, and a reduced footprint of machinery.